


Love Came Down at Christmas

by entirely_the_wrong_sort



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Babysitting, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 00:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7596433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/entirely_the_wrong_sort/pseuds/entirely_the_wrong_sort
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is Christmas, 1980, and Kingsley pays a visit to two exhausted substitute fathers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Came Down at Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Written to fulfill a bunch of prompts for RS Small Gifts 2015 over on LJ. As with my 2014 entry, I didn't wanna wait until winter to share! Wolfstar is good whatever the weather.

Peter handed a distraught Lily his handkerchief. She took it with an appreciative smile and hid her tear-stained face in the cloth.

“Lily, sweetie,” Sirius cooed, “it’s going to be fine.”

“Yeah, he’s in the safest hands in the whole Order,” Peter added in his best placating tone, laying a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, you didn’t grant me the title of godfather for my witty charm. Or maybe you did? Is that why you insisted Moony stay and help?”

Lily laughed at that and punched Sirius on the arm. He took her hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly.

“You know damn well it is, Sirius Black!” she smirked. “I know it’s the right thing to do, and I know you’ll be fine, I just… I c-can’t believe I’m going to miss m-my little baby b-boy’s first Christmas!” With that she was sobbing again and Peter pulled her into a hug, leaving Sirius to stand awkwardly holding her hand.

They shared a look of pity over the top of her head. It wasn’t an ideal situation; the Potters’ home had been compromised by Death Eaters, and James and Lily had a duty to help remove the threat if they wanted to make it to New Year. The war didn’t stop for Christmas. Voldemort wanted their little baby boy just as much as ever.

They heard footsteps in the hallway and James walked in, holding a fidgeting Harry and blathering nervously at Remus, who followed behind with a moses basket full of baby stuff under his arm.

“...And he hates it when it’s too quiet, so make sure he has his Cacophonator on at night – ”

“Yes, James, we’ve met the boy before, you know,” Remus muttered under his breath.

“Oh, my baby boy!” Lily threw herself at her husband and child. “Here, James, let me have one more cuddle...”

Remus caught Sirius’ eye and they shook their heads at these two powerful, mighty warriors brought to ruin by a kid that couldn’t even sit up on its own.

“I’m sorry guys, but we need to get moving now. Dumbledore’s expecting us,” Peter said apologetically.

Remus smiled, lifting Harry from his mother’s reluctant arms. Sirius walked over and wrapped his arms casually around the two of them, as if visually demonstrating to the Potters that he could protect their child. “Honestly, you two, it’s going to be absolutely fine.”

As they waved off the glum parents and their empathetic companion from the doorway, baby Harry buried himself into Remus’ chest.

“See? The kid loves us. How hard could this be?”

“Famous last words, Sirius.”

***

It had been nearly four hours since Kingsley dropped in to update them on the Potters, but he was quite content listening to the audio drama playing quietly on the Wireless, settled in a threadbare chair by the simmering fire. Harry had dropped off to sleep in his lap an hour ago and he didn’t want to disturb him by moving.

The place was an absolute tip. Dirty clothes and baby toys and books littered the floor; an unreasonable number of coffee mugs for a bachelor’s flat covered the coffee table and mantelpiece, most of them abandoned half full. Here and there were glimpses of half-hearted Christmas decorations beneath the wreckage, and in the corner the gifts Kingsley had brought over for Harry from the Order sat boldly under the limp Christmas tree, which looked sparser than it had on his last visit, as though someone had taken offense to all the shiniest baubles...

On the sofa, Sirius and Remus were both fast asleep. They’d crashed almost as soon as they had sat down, and gravitated towards each other so that they were now basically cuddling. It was almost a cute picture, Kingsley thought, if they didn’t both look so inelegant, covered in suspicious and gross-smelling stains, Sirius drooling on Remus’ chest as the latter snored like a foghorn.

Parenting had obviously taken its toll on these kids. That’s all they were really, kids raising kids in the middle of a war. They deserved a little peace for a while. Heck, so did he. When he left here, he had a list of Order duties and a cold, empty bed waiting for him, so to hell if he was going to get out of this cozy armchair in this warm, well-inhabited room and wake up those weary surrogates and their baby.

The audio play had become Classic Cantations Hour and Kingsley drifted through his own thoughts. He found his eyes kept drifting to the scene on the sofa, at how they lay together so comfortably, how they’d drifted into each other, so familiar. He had to wonder if they often found themselves in each other’s arms. They kept it to themselves of course, but he imagined that they did. In fact, he hoped they did; Merlin knew they could all do with a little comfort, a gentle touch now and then.

He couldn’t say he was surprised now that he thought about it. The two of them were never far apart at meetings, often speaking for each other, sharing looks that in hindsight seemed much more intimate than called for. The way McGonagall spoke about the self-titled ‘marauders’, it seemed that Potter and Black were the inseparable duo. Well, a marriage and a baby would certainly change the dynamic of a gang of bachelors.

In fact, now that he looked closely, this room - aside from being covered in baby things - did not look much like a bachelor’s, in his own experience. There were definitely family photos above the fireplace, but it was no secret how Sirius felt about his kin. What he could see of the stack of vinyl by the record player didn’t strike Kingsley as Sirius’ music taste from what he knew of him. On the bookcase was the curse-breaking book he’d lent to Remus last month. And there really was a bizarre amount of mugs...

So... Remus wasn’t just staying here to help out with the baby.

A great stuttering snort came from the sofa, snapping Kingsley from his reverie. Remus smacked his lips, swallowed and resumed his rattling snores. Sirius, though, had been roused. He raised his head from Remus’ chest, and rubbed his purple-ringed eyes, normally immaculate hair sticking up all over the place.

“Sweet dreams, Dozy Delphema?” Kingsley grinned.

“Shacklebolt?” Sirius yawned back, stretching like a cat across Remus’ lap. “What’re you still doing here?”

Kingsley shrugged. “Thought you boys could do with a few winks, you look terrible. Harry and I played several games of ‘stop putting everything in your mouth’ before he dropped off an hour ago,” he chuckled softly, gesturing at the sleeping lump on his knees.

“Oh yeah, that one’s his favourite. That and the ‘if I pull Sirius’ hair hard enough, will it come out?’ game. He loves that one.”

“Harder than you thought it’d be, eh?”

“Understatement, mate. He’s alright for a day, when I get to give him back. You know, I love that kid to death, but I wouldn’t be surprised if James and Lily just pulled a runner. Can’t say I’d blame ‘em!”

Kingsley chuckled at the wistful look on his face. “At least you’ve got Lupin to help.”

Sirius’ sat up and looked at Remus still sleeping. “Yeah,” he smiled affectionately, a softness in his eyes Kingsley hadn’t noticed before. “I don’t know what I’d ever do without him.”

Before Kingsley could examine that too hard, the Wireless began chiming bells and the announcer wished them a Merry Christmas. The clock on the mantelpiece reading midnight confirmed it. “Well, good tidings, my good man,” Sirius said.

“And to you, old boy. You going to wake him up?” Kingsley nodded at Remus.

“Nah, this is the longest he’s slept in days. Fancy a drink to celebrate?”

“Please.”

Sirius conjured a bottle of bubbly and two glasses. When he popped the cork loudly neither Harry nor Remus even twitched. “They’ll sleep through anything, these two. Not that I’m bitter or anything,” he grumbled dramatically and handed Kingsley his fizz.

“So, this is the place you bought?” Kingsley asked, making small talk.

Sirius looked around the room with a satisfied smile on his face, as though he’d engineered the chaos around them on purpose. “Uh huh. My family legacy.”

“Well, you’ve certainly, uh… filled it nicely, to say you’re only two years out of school.”

“What can I say, I’m a hoarder,” he winked. They shared a look, and Sirius seemed to notice that Kingsley’s eyes had flickered to his snoring companion. With a slow blink and a small shrug that said 'what the hell' he elaborated, “Besides, most of this stuff is Remus’. He’s very sentimental, especially with old clothes. I don’t think he’s ever even thrown a holey sock out. Y’know this is my first Christmas here.” Kingsley raised his eyebrows in inquiry. “Yeah, between the Grand-Potters and the Order I haven’t seen much of the place.” He looked back at Remus. “It’ll be nothing grand, but I’ve got everything I need.”

With a terrifyingly sudden jolt that made Sirius and Kingsley jump out of their skin, Remus started awake. “Where’s Harry?” he demanded, looking around wildly.

“Whoa, easy there, Moony, he’s with Shacklebolt.”

“Oh,” he breathed in relief at Kingsley. “‘Morning. Or, possibly evening?”

“Merry Christmas, Lupin.”

“Merlin’s balls, already!” he exclaimed, smacking his forehead in horror. “Has it really been three days?”

Sirius and Kingsley laughed and Harry shifted uncomfortably on his lap. The house was awake now. The Wireless was warbling old carols and even the fire seemed livelier.

“Ah well, it was nice while it lasted,” Sirius sighed. He handed Remus a glass of fizz and took Harry from Kingsley before the baby started to whinge in earnest. Kingsley found himself missing the warmth and weight of him already.

Remus drained his glass in one go and poured himself another. “Merry Christmas indeed,” he muttered with a burp. “A toast: to absent friends.”

“Hear, hear,” they chorused back.

“Padfoot! What’s wrong with you? Don’t give it to Harry!”

“What? It might help him sleep.”

Kingsley laughed as he watched Remus try to unsuccessfully wrestle the glass and then the baby from Sirius. For his part, Harry was giggling too. They spent a while afterwards making easy small talk and sipping bubbles as they tried to send Harry back to sleep. In the end, Kingsley’s deep and soothing tone seem to hypnotise the baby and he dozed off within a minute of being back in his arms, much to Remus and Sirius’ dismay.

“You know, you’re welcome to stay here tonight – ”

“ – Or possibly forever,” Remus added.

Kingsley raised his eyebrows, “It’s the middle of the night.”

“Whatever,” Sirius shrugged. “Time has no meaning in this house lately.”

“But, in seriousness, you’re welcome to have Christmas dinner – or breakfast – with us.”

“Really, we’d love to have you stay over if you wanted.”

Kingsley thought for a moment. He had to admit he would appreciate the company, as he had no plans of his own for Christmas. And surely his jobs for the Order could wait a short while… But he looked at the men sat on the sofa – closer than friends, as easy as family – and decided that he wouldn’t take their first Christmas away from them. It wouldn’t feel right to impose.

“Thanks for the offer, gentlemen, but I can’t. There’s work to be done. In fact, I’d better be heading out now.”

He passed the sleeping baby back to Sirius as carefully as possible and they whispered their goodbyes, then Remus showed him to the door. They shook hands once Kingsley fastened his cloak tightly about himself. “Merry Christmas, Lupin.” He leaned in and added softly, “Hang on to that one, Remus, you deserve a little happiness this year.”

Remus looked at him, taken aback and pink around the ears. “Uh, m-merry Christmas to you, too. Travel safe.”

***

It wasn’t too cold outside, but compared to the warmth and comfort of flat 63a, it was positively polar. It had started to snow, the silent street speckled bright orange and grey in London’s light pollution. Kingsley looked back at the building from the street and couldn’t help but smile widely at the scene he could just make out behind the net curtain; of two young soldiers coddling the precious life they were entrusted, of two lovers sharing an easy kiss, a moment’s respite in a war they never asked for.


End file.
